Collision
by fringe11
Summary: Jack & Rose both survive the collision with the iceberg. They begin making a new life for themselves in America. But can they handle what life throws at them?  Not a very good summary, I know, but I'm new at this so please read!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own titanic or any scenes or characters.**

**I'm not going to post another chapter until this one gets at least 100 views….so if you liked it, please tell your friends! Reviews would be good too; I'm new at this and would really appreciate some feedback!**

Jack thrust open the door at the top of the stairs. A blast of chilled night air hit the couple as they came tumbling out onto the deck. Rose was laughing so hard that her eyes were tearing up and her breathing becoming ragged. She almost tripped over the last step, but Jack caught her hand. He redirected the momentum of her fall, and used it to swing her around into his arms. They grabbed at each other's wrists and laughed some more. Rose drank in the harmonic sound of the childish gasps and snorts they unwittingly made as they both tried to gulp air while their giggles overwhelmed them, causing them only to laugh even harder.

Jack regained his composure enough to speak. "Did you see-" he had to pause as he gulped more air, "those guys' faces?" Rose broke into a renewed burst of laughter. She pulled him closer as he continued to convulse with amusement. "Did you see them?" he asked again, clearer now that their giggles were beginning to calm themselves.

Rose gently placed her fingertips over his lips to stop him from talking, which also effectively ended the remainder of the laughter. The elated mood, however, continued to envelop the happy couple. They were both breathing hard from laughing and running up the stairs. Rose slowly took on a slightly more serious air, and Jack just stared at her lovingly, sensing that she was preparing herself to say something she thought important. She paused, nerves creeping their way into her mind. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous, and in the end she decided she'd added up what she would lose against what she could gain, and it was worth it. Her hand moved up his face until it rested right under his ear, cupping his cheek. Her face displayed her anxiety, but that didn't matter to Jack. This decided her completely; he loved her, and that was all that mattered. She took a shaky breath, then opened her lips to speak. "When this ship docks," she began in a shaky voice, "I'm getting off with you." She ended in a firm, determined tone that made Jack's face light up in a smile that melted her. He quickly composed himself though, and tried to hide it his delight. Rose assumed this was his way of being a gentleman; he was thrilled to pieces, but wanted it to be her choice, and couldn't let his own desires get in the way of this.

She could see the excitement boiling behind his sky blue eyes, however. She knew she meant it; and so did he.

"This is crazy," he said in a whisper. Jack wanted her to mean it, but he wouldn't be able to bear it if she was unhappy with his rather unorthodox lifestyle. He didn't have a plan for what happened next; for now he was living in the moment. She loved his though, that much he knew without a second thought. They could probably make it work….somehow. His statement wasn't an accusation, or a comment meant to sway her choice; just a fact they both knew to be true. She giggled again.

"I-I know," she said, "It doesn't make any sense!" Her face was incredulous, as if she couldn't believe what she was saying herself. Then her gaze softened, and she looked up into his eyes and let her hand move to cup the back of his neck. "That's why I trust it." Her voice now reflected the excitement in his face. He let the smile spread across his lips, then, and saw her face light up when she saw it. Jack had no words. He had no coherent thoughts either; just pictures in his mind, flashes of what was to come for them both. He was terrified, but at the same time couldn't think of what he would do if she didn't come with him, to wherever he might go. Whatever future he pictured himself living, she was there with him. He needed her; and from the look in her eyes, she felt the same.

He wasn't sure how to respond, and knew his face showed a conflicted array of emotions dashing across his features. But after several seconds, his eyes focused on hers, and that was all there was to it. His gaze softened, and he looked at her with a love he had never even thought possible. She saw the decision in his dazzling blue eyes, and kissed him with a passion that she knew would never die; no matter what was thrown at them. He smiled against her lips and feverishly kissed her again and again. Her hands lost themselves in his hair and his collar. The bitter wind pulled at her dress and tangled his jacket around her, but the cold was lost in the warmth of the kiss. Yes, they could most definitely make it work.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I Don't Own Anything!**

** I'm feeling generous today, so I'm going to post the next chapter before the first one gets to 100 viewers. Next time, I'm going to wait until this chapter gets at least 50 reviews! So, please read & review! If you have nothing to say, rate the chapter 1-10…..1 meaning you didn't like it at all, 10 it was awesome. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy!**

Rose was convinced she'd never let him go, until a massive jerk sent them both almost crashing to the deck, and set the ship vibrating like an earthquake had struck. They looked around franticly, trying to determine what was happening and grabbing onto each other for reassurance. A huge avalanche of ice came cascading onto the deck as the ship scraped against an iceberg as big as the country they had departed from. Jack protectively pushed Rose towards the center of the deck to avoid a frozen waterfall of ice, and then quickly jumped out of the path of the falling crystalline shards. He anxiously looked over at her face, and read in her eyes the fear he knew was mirrored in his own as the ship sharply veered away from the massive iceberg, causing another tremor to rock the ship and more ice to spill over onto the decks.

Jack held Rose tight as the ship came to a grinding halt not five minutes later. People had already started pouring onto the decks at all levels, wondering and curios, frightened and anxious. No one knew why the ship had stopped, but there were guesses that there must have been a bit of damage caused by the collision, and this was simply a pause to correct it.

All of the passengers were in turmoil for a brief moment, but when the sky didn't rain down on their heads, or the ocean rise up and swallow them whole, they quickly became bored and irritated with the delay. The first class passengers only poked their heads out long enough to decide they were in no immediate danger, then pulled their feathered hats and greased-back hair inside to continue with their dull conversations.

Jack and Rose made their way over to the side of the ship to survey the damage. Jack stood on the bottom rung of the railing and leaned over as far as he could safely, and Rose held on to his arm just to be safe; they had a bad history with railings. After a moment of silence, though, she was tired of waiting for his report, and she too stepped up and leaned over to have a look.

Seeing no significant trauma, they leaned back onto the ship. "Well, it looks alright," Jack said, though he didn't sound very convinced. Rose heard it in his words and became slightly nervous again.

"Could it have damaged the ship?" she spoke in a flurry. Jack glanced over at her for a fraction of a second, then back down into the murky blackness that hid whatever scars the boat now bore. Even though he was thinking that it most certainly could have – and probably had - Jack didn't want Rose to worry.

"It didn't seem like that much of a bump," he said, trying to be more convincing and calm her, "I think we should be alright." With that, he shrugged and stepped back down onto the deck, but continued to look around, craning his neck up and down, trying to see any crew activity on the upper decks, or something defining on the ship's exterior. While he was looking around and not paying attention, Rose let a mischievous grin take over her pale, worried face. Forgetting the trouble the blackness of the night and the dark, churning ocean could be hiding, she leaned down quickly, and brought up a small, dull block of ice. Curling her lips under her teeth so he wouldn't hear her laugh, she slipped the shard down the back of Jack's shirt.

The cold ice burned against his back, and he jumped around on the deck with a small cry of pain and a hilarious expression. The surprise of the matter wore off quickly enough, but his eyes were still scrunched tight, and his lips pursed like he'd eaten a lemon. He tried to reach the ice and pull it out, but eventually just continued jumping around until it fell out. Rose playfully tried to pretend she was helping, but ended up just laughing at him. Once it was out, he turned and gave her a faux-angry glare, then began to reach for her outstretched arms. She batted away his attempts as best she could, but he was stronger and she was weak and unfocused from laughing.

"Alright, that's it," he said in a mock angry voice. He smiled ruefully at her and finally latched onto her wrists.

"No, no, no!" she yelped as he playfully pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You're going overboard!" he yelled, hoisting her up and leaning her as far over the deck as he dared while she flailed helplessly, giggling so hard tears were starting to form in her eyes.

Rose continued to shriek "No!" and flail her arms until he finally set her back down on the deck, afraid she really would fall over the railing again. They were both laughing hysterically for the second time that night. Jack pulled her in closer and kissed her. She was shaking now, from cold or laughter, he couldn't tell, but either way he couldn't blame her, so he just stood there and held her close to him, rubbing her arms to keep her warm and empathize.

Jack decided they ought to go and figure out just what was going on. So he gently led Rose up the steps and through the third class gate to one of the upper decks. They scurried out of the way of several of the ship's officers, none of which looked convinced that it had just been a small bump. Jack grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her against the wall to be out of the way, but held still, listening in on their conversation.

The captain was addressing a young man who had left his post to report, which had probably been in the control room. The captain spoke in a mock-calm voice, trying to force the same calm on the frantic young man who was trying not to explode on his commander, who knew there were listening passengers within earshot. "We just need to close the doors, then-"

"Sir, the doors are already closed, sealed tight, but she's still taking on water!"

"Well, son, why didn't you say that earlier? We must get the pumps working faster!" The captain then abandoned his calm façade, and they ran off, the younger one rolling his eyes before following his captain down the corridor.

They had been very worried, and Rose didn't understand much of what they had said, but she knew enough about boats to know that if part of the ship was under-water, it wasn't good. She looked up at Jack anxiously, trying to understand the significance of what they had said. She knew Jack would know.

"This is_bad_," he said, the weight of the situation and all of its possible outcomes beginning to form an uncomfortable knot in the pit of his stomach. The officers were frantic, and part of the ship was taking on water. They had closed all of the watertight doors in the hull of the ship, but somehow the water was still spreading into other parts of the lower decks. They were basically sitting ducks, but without any chance to fly away. He looked over at Rose, and she realized he wasn't being funny this time; they were in real trouble. Jack looked worried; maybe even afraid, though he was trying not to show it, for her sake she guessed. She felt a pang of affection at this, but also knew it meant they were in a lot more trouble than she had hoped for.

"Maybe we should tell my mother, and Cal?" Rose suggested halfheartedly. If something bad was going to happen, she thought her mother would already know about it, and wasn't exactly thrilled by the thought of paying her decidedly ex-fiancé a visit. But she couldn't just throw her mother to the wolves, or rather the waves, no matter how much she wanted to. Jack looked thoughtful for a moment, thinking it over. He looked over at her, gauging her expression, and she tried to hide the disgust at the thought of Cal, for her mother's sake.

"If you think that's a good idea," Jack responded hesitantly. He watched her carefully, unsure of what she really wanted to do. He knew he had no desire to go and spend any amount of time with Rose's _family_, but after the frantic conversation between the officers, he wasn't about to let her out of his sight.

Rose, however, couldn't make up her mind. She wasn't even sure anything bad was happening. Maybe she should wait, get some more information before she ran around crying wolf. After all, as soon as her mother became worried that something was going wrong with her perfect plan to ship her daughter to America and marry her off for money, she wouldn't let Rose out of her sight. And all Rose wanted was to stay away from her mother and be with Jack. "Maybe we should find out some more information before we worry her, now that I think of it," Rose said, her voice disguising the indecision she knew was written all over her face.

Jack, understanding her hesitation, agreed without a second thought. Neither of them wanted to spend time in Rose's stuffy, lifeless, first class stateroom (not that her mother would even _consider_ letting Jack in the door, of course), but they both wanted to be with each other. So they set out together, roaming the decks, searching for anyone or anything that could shed some light on why they were trapped in the middle of the sea.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING**

**So I know so far it's basically been me retelling the story, but I was just laying a foundation. Things start to change in this chapter, and from here on out it will be different. I'm trying to keep the parts I can close enough to the actual story line so I don't wander too far out of character.**

**Thanks to everyone who has been reading, and especially those who have taken the time to review (please keep it up!) :D So, here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it!**

A little while later, the couple found themselves at the base of the grand staircase. A decent amount of the first class passengers were mulling around or sitting at the tales in the nearby dining room, wearing life vests, though they didn't know why and the majority of them looked quite agitated. None were trying to acquire any information, though. This surprised Jack a bit, but Rose kept pushing her way through the crowd, checking the faces of everyone she passed while towing Jack in her wake. Finally she found the man she was looking for: Mr. Thomas Andrews. He was wandering around in a daze, and he would freeze and stare every time someone ran into him, then he would continue walking. Neither Rose nor Jack took this to be a good sign.

Mr. Andrews began climbing the stairs, but Rose dropped Jack's hand and ran over to him, taking the stairs two at a time and grabbed the back of his shirt. He turned around slowly, not wanting to answer the questions he assumed were coming. His eyes flared briefly with recognition as he took in a disgruntled looking Rose standing anxiously in front of him, and a blonde man standing a respective distance behind her at the base of the steps with a neutral expression and his hands in his pockets, but who was obviously accompanying her.

"Mr. Andrews," Rose began, her tone quiet but sharp and frantic. "We saw the iceberg. And I see it in your eyes. Please….Please tell me the truth." His eyes flicked down to were Jack was standing, watching Rose and waiting for a response, trying to be patient. Then his eyes came to rest once again on Rose, who wasn't nearly as good at pretending to be patient as her companion. He took her arm and led her to the base of the staircase, stopping next to Jack so he could address them both.

"The ship…will sink," he said. His voice was a monotonous drone. He knew what was coming, but didn't know how to process the information. He didn't even try to soften the blow; his nerves were too shot and he couldn't find the will to sugar coat it. Besides, he knew Rose was a strong girl; she could take the truth.

Her eyes widened, as did Jack's, and her pale face went a shade paler with surprise. Jack took a step closer to her and put a hand on her arm, trying to reassure her. She barely noticed it as the realization of what this meant came crashing down on her, threatening to topple her over. Rose stumbled a little under from the wave that had hit her consciousness; she would have fallen down the stairs if Jack hadn't steadied her. "You're certain?"

"Yes. In an hour or so. All of us will be at the bottom of the Atlantic," Mr. Andrews was obviously beginning to come apart at the hinges. Rose saw the truth in his eyes, the desperation for someone to take the matter seriously; but also the fear a deer showed when it was about to be struck by a vehicle at top speed. He could barely keep himself together, and this scared Rose more than she hoped was displayed across her pale face.

"What?" Jack had no idea what was happening. Some crazy old man was telling Rose they were already dead. His blue eyes frantic, Rose looked up at him and took his hand. He took this as confirmation of what the man was saying; it was insane, but if Rose was convinced, he trusted her judgment. Rose felt the grip on her arm tighten as Jack tried to take in what they were saying.

"Please, tell only who you must. I don't want to be responsible for a panic. And get to a boat. Quickly. _Don't_ wait. You remember what I told you about the boats?" now Mr. Andrews just looked sad. His beautiful, majestic, unsinkable boat was going to claim hundreds of lives, and there wasn't a thing he could do. He could try to get Rose out safely, though. No, not try; he _would_ help her get off this boat. Once she understood, he knew she could take it from there. He just had to be sure she knew. He paused, waiting for her to process his news and respond.

"Yes….Yes, I understand," Rose suddenly fell completely calm. Jack was becoming increasingly worried, but had only vaguely heard what Mr. Andrews had said; the look on Rose's face told him all he wanted to know.

They shared a look of understanding, and then Mr. Andrews left Roe and Jack alone at the bottom of the steps.

Rose took a deep breath before turning to Jack. "We need to get to a boat….Now," Her voice was soft, trying not to alarm him, but he could sense the anxiety lurking beneath the surface of her façade. He wanted to know what was going on, but he decided he could ask her that once they were safely in a boat.

As they turned to go up onto the deck, a quickly gaining Caledon Hockely blocked there path. He was walking pointedly toward the top of the staircase, making it impossible for the couple to use the stairs as an escape route. Jack grabbed Rose's hand, and they began sprinting down a corridor toward an elevator.

Despite the impending doom they faced, neither Rose nor Jack could help laughing as they hijacked the elevator and dodged out of Cal's reach once again. When they touched down on the 3rd class floor, though, their smiles shrunk and their eyes widened.

There was a half foot of water covering the worn floor. People were screaming and running all over the place, and the water slowly washed away whatever people left in their rooms after they hastily fled. It was at least 10 degrees colder down in these corridors, whether from the water or the dread in the air, no one could tell.

Rose stood frozen in the elevator, terrified to go a step further. Jack, on the other hand, flew into action. He grabbed Rose's hand again, towing her along behind him as he carefully maneuvered through the corridors filling slowly with water. They ran along for what felt like forever, and the cold tendrils of ocean crept up their legs no matter how fast they went. When the water had reached mid-thigh, they came to the bottom of a 3rd class stairwell backed up with people. Jack paused, calculating his next move, while Rose just stood their awkwardly, surrounded by people who were looking at her as if the collision were her own personal fault.

The noise was making Rose dizzy. Suddenly a distinct voice cried out though, and an Italian man was pushing his way toward Jack, closely followed by a chubby Irishman carrying a small girl. Jack ran to them instantly, turning back to Rose a second later to pull her along with him through the crowd. She couldn't make out their conversation over the noise and the headache it was starting to give her, but she knew they were discussing a plan. Jack looked back at her every few seconds, and could see the discomfort on her face. It took a moment, but then they started off down another corridor, away from the noise and the chaos.

"Rose, Fabrizio know another way out. It's a staircase the stewards use during the day, but the gate has really weak hinges and no guard," Jack was explaining the parts of the plan she had missed through the crowd's earsplitting symphony of whines and screams. She followed the men without question.

The water was almost up to their hips by the time they reached the staircase. someone else must have discovered the passage already; the gate was open and the top hinge broken. Jack pushed Rose up first, and the little girl the Irishman had been carrying close behind. Rose grabbed the young girl's hand and raced up the stairs, only looking back to be sure Jack was close behind. At the top of the steps they paused, and Jack had a quick, unspoken conversation with his Italian friend. For over two minutes they stood there making small gestures and eye twitches at each other. Then Fabrizio nodded.

"Let's hope this works," he muttered, and took a step closer to Jack. "Good luck, Jack. Keep them and yourself safe. And say hello to Lady Liberty for me when you get home, okay?" Fabrizio's voice cracked, though he tried to hide it, and his eyes were glazed with unshed tears. Jack stared at his friend, then closed the small gap between them and wrapped him in a hug.

"Don't you worry, we'll be back together soon enough, laughing our heads off at all this," Jack didn't sound convinced, but at least wanted his goodbye to be a fond one. He patted Fabrizio on the back with tears in his own eyes, making them take on the appearance of the waves creeping up the stairs behind them. He released him and walked over to where Rose, the Irishman, and the little girl were standing awkwardly several feet away.

Then he did something Rose found unexpected. Jack swung the little girl up into his arms, grabbed Rose by the hand, and started sprinting down the hallway. Rose looked back over her shoulder and saw his friends solemnly waving their goodbyes, knowing they would most likely never see their friend again.

With tears streaking her face, Rose began to run faster. She was instantly beside Jack instead of being pulled along behind him, and he glanced over at her quickly. A sad smile spread across his face, and Rose squeezed his hand. They could make it out of here. Rose was not about to let him slip away from her, and obviously he wasn't going anywhere. Somehow, they'd make it; they'd find a way, no matter what.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING**

**Kind of a short chapter, I know, but this is where I wanted to end it. Please let me know what you think :D**

Their footsteps echoed on the deck behind them. Jack's foreign friends had disappeared in the opposite direction. Knowing there was little to no hope of their own escape, they had gone off to be with loved ones and say their final goodbyes. Rose was now carrying the small red-headed girl, who could have passed for her own daughter, with the pair's flaming ringlets trailing wildly down their backs. Jack had Rose's hand in his, and was trying to push through the crowds to find a lifeboat with 2 seats left.

In the time it had taken them to reach the top deck, Jack had explained to Rose that the small girl's name was Cora. Her family had occupied the room across the hall from Jack and Fabrizio's on the 3rd class floor, and had also been the niece of their new-found Irish friend. Jack had promised to take the girl with him and find her a spot on one of the quickly-depleting lifeboats. She had family in New York; they would be sure to care for her there.

The search for a boat came to an end as they neared the far end of the deck. Jack pulled Rose and Cora up to the front of the crowd and pushed Rose toward the crewman helping the women into the small craft, careful not to dislodge the child shaking in her arms. Rose refused to budge, however. "No!" Rose said to him sternly, her eyes wide and panicked. "I won't go without you!"

"Get on the boat, Rose," Jack's voice was barely above a whisper. He looked around quickly. He spoke hurriedly, lying through his teeth to get her to go on without him, to make sure she was safe. "Get on the boat! It'll all be ok. I heard one of the stewards say there were other boats on the far side of the ship, and they're letting men on. But I won't go 'till I'm sure you're safe and on your way down. So please, Rose, get on the boat!"

Though her eyes were full of tears, she reached over the small girl and kissed Jack one more time. Then she started toward the lifeboat, and let the crewman help her and Cora in, never taking her eyes off of Jack. He was illuminated from behind by the flares they were sending up, and Rose drank him in: his face, his eyes, the gentle way his straw-colored hair blew in the breeze. It was almost peaceful; she could pretend for a moment that he was the only person in the world, that none of the chaos around her was real.

When they began to lower the boat into toward the water, however, she began to panic. She was still watching Jack, but out of the corner of her eye she suddenly saw Cal advancing on him, revolver cocked and aimed at Jack's head.

He smiled down at her, but then the sheer terror in her face registered. He hesitated a moment, not wanting to lose sight of her. But the fear in her eyes was too much for him; he looked around him and his face turned pale. Wading through the sea of people directly toward him was Caledon Hockley. Jack was torn. He couldn't escape, and yet he had to. Rose was bound to do something rash if he didn't; and if she didn't, then the last image she would have of him would be his dead, bleeding body hurtling toward the ocean after Cal shot him. He couldn't bear the thought of either. He looked down at her again, fear in his own eyes now. A single tear traced its way down Rose's cheek, and Jack realized something he'd known all along: he couldn't live without her. But in that moment he realized something else, too: she needed him as much as he needed her. He knew he couldn't leave her then, in any form. So he made his decision: Jack clambered over to the railing as fast as he could, right as Cal broke through the crowd of people. Then, with Rose watching from the lifeboat now halfway down the side of the ship, Jack jumped.


End file.
